Heroes of the Storm is an online-only MOBA title from the developers over at Blizzard, the same team behind World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and StarCraft. The game was originally released on the 2nd June 2015, during the boom of the MOBA genre in 2015. With Heroes of the Storm, it’s an amalgamation of all of Blizzard’s most popular and unique characters that were then all thrust into a brand-new genre from the studio, giving the game somewhat of a Super Smash Bros. style of the roster.
How to Download Heroes of the Storm
To get gold of Heroes of the Storm, click on the Download button at the end of this review. The game is free to download and play.
The Game Review
While Heroes of the Storm did try to attempt at a story, for the most part, it simply boils down to, a number of Blizzard’s famous characters have been forcefully teleported into this new world for one reason or another and they’re tasked with going up against each other. Other than that, there’s very little else to the game’s plot, but with a MOBA, a story isn’t exactly a big part of the entire genre.
The gameplay is very similar to many other genres, such as DOTA 2 or League of Legends, where the game plays just like a top-down RTS game, except instead of taking control of multiple characters, you take control of one. To move around the map, the player simply has to right-click on the location they want to go to or want to attack, and then the character will then go and do that. Then, if they’re looking to do an ability, all that has to be done is by pressing one of the hot-bar keys and then left-clicking on wherever the player wishes to fire that particular ability.
Heroes of the Storm does take a lot of inspiration from previous MOBAs but does change it up somewhat with its leveling system. Instead of player’s leveling up as individuals, the team will level up collectively and with each milestone, they can all choose a new talent, which will change up some of the character’s abilities in one way or another. Other than just the usual objective of “destroy the enemy base”, each map in the game has a secondary objective for each team to do, and depending on which team is successful, they will then gain some sort of bonus for a short time.
Easily the biggest comparisons for Heroes of the Storm is DOTA 2 and League of Legends. While both of those games appeal to different types of MOBA players, Heroes of the Storm is designed to be somewhat more accessible for newer players with the exclusion of the shop system.
Fans of the MOBA genre are bound to find plenty to enjoy when it comes to Heroes of the Storm, and even more casual fans are going to appreciate how easy the game is to approach. While some players like to dispute that the game doesn’t have quite as much depth as other MOBA games in the genre, there’s still plenty of there for both casual and hardcore fans of the genre to enjoy, even if it’s just a match or two a day.
The Characters
There are no less than 81 playable characters in Heroes of the Storm that you can pick and play. You can also expect new heroes to become available with the game being updated now and then. In HotS you will find the heroes of Overkill, Diablo, StarCraft, and Warcraft. There are even The Lost Vikings – the three heroes of the puzzle-platform game from 1993.
Heroes of the Storm Characters from Warcraft
The most numerous HofS character cast of 37 heroes from Warcraft is the following:
- Dragon Alexstrasza,
- King Anub’arak,
- Prince Arthas Menethil,
- Faerie dragon Brightwing,
- the Pandaren brewmaster Chen Stormsout,
- Cho’gall (who are split into Cho and Gall),
- female bronze dragon Chronormu who disguises as a female gnome Chromie,
- Elite Tauren Chieftain called E.T.C.,
- Falstad Wildhammer who is a ranged assassin,
- Garrosh Hellscream, a Warchief of the Horde,
- Goblin businessman Gazlowe,
- Genn Greymane from Stormwind City,
- Gul’dan, the orcish shaman of the Stormreaver Clan,
- Illidan Stormrage, the first demon hunter,
- Jaina Proudmoore, the powerful human sorceress,
- Prince Kael’thas Sunstrider, Lord of the Blood Elves,
- Archlich Kel’Thuzad, Lich Lord of the Plaguelands
- Li Li Stormstout, another legendary Panderan brewmaster,
- Lunara the dryad,
- Maiev Shadowsong, a legendary night elf warden
- Malfurion Stormrage, the greatest of the world’s archdruids,
- Medivh the last Guardian of Trinsfal,
- Muradin Bronzbeard, the dwarven hero,
- Murky, the famous non-combat pet,
- Ragnaros the Firelord, a powerful Elemental Lord
- Rehgar Earthfury, the orcish shaman,
- Rexxar, a half-ogre Champion of the Horde,
- Samuro, the last remaining orcish Blademaster,
- Stitches, the elite Duskwood abomination,
- Sylvanas Windrunner, the Banshee Queen,
- Thrall, the Warchief of the orcish Horde,
- Tyrande Whisperwind, the elven high priestess of the goddess Elune,
- Uther the Lightbringer, the paladin,
- Valeera Sanguinar, a female Blood Elf, Champion of the Crimson Ring,
- Varian Wrynn, human warrior, former High King of the Alliance,
- Exarch Yrel, the Draenei paladin,
- and Zul’jin, the warlord of the Amani tribe forest trolls
Heroes of the Storm Characters from StarCraft
There are 17 StarCraft heroes in Heroes of the Storm:
- Abathur, a Zerg evolution master,
- Alarak, the Highlord of the Tal’darim, a melee assassin hero,
- Artanis, the leader of the Daelaam, a renowned warrior,
- Blaze or Corporal Miles “Blaze” Lewis, a veteran firebat of the Terran Dominion,
- Dehaka, a primal zerg pack leader from Zerus
- Fenix, a Protoss zealot, and praetor of the Protoss Defense Forces
- Sarah Louise Kerrigan, the self-styled Queen of Blades,
- Lieutenant Rosa Morales, a Combat Medic,
- November Annabella “Nova” Terra, a ghost who served the Terran Dominion,
- Probius, the Protoss probe,
- General James Eugene Raynor,
- Sgt. Hammer Sergeant Alabama “Bama the Hammer” Kowalski, a female Terran Dominion siege tank operator.
- Alexei Stukov, the vice admiral of the UED Expeditionary Fleet,
- Tassadar, Savior of the Templar, a Protoss high templar,
- Tychus J. Findlay was a Terran marine,
- Zagara, the Broodmother of the Swarm,
- and Zeratul, the revered Nerazim mystic.
Heroes of the Storm Characters from Diablo 3
The Diablo 3 group of 16 heroes in HotS includes:
- The archangel Auriel,
- The Lord of Sin Azmodan,
- The Amazon Warrior Cassia Deckard,
- Deckard Cain, the Horadric scholar
- Al’Diabalos, the Lord of Terror, known as Diablo,
- The Crusader Johanna,
- The Monk Kharazim,
- King Leoric, the monarch of Khanduras. corrupted by Diablo,
- The female wizard Li-Ming,
- Malthael, the Angel of Death,
- Nazeebo, the Witch Doctor,
- Sonya, the Barbarian,
- The Butcher, a mighty demon in service of Maghda the witch,
- Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice,
- Valla, the Demon Hunter,
- and Xul, the Necromancer.
Heroes of the Storm Characters from Overwatch
There are also 8 heroes from Overwatch.
- Ana, an Egyptian fighter with a Biotic Rifle and Biotic Grenades,
- D.Va, a pro eSports gamer from Korean, now a mech pilot,
- Genji, a Japanese fighter who uses shuriken and wakizashi,
- Hanzo, a Japanese archer,
- Junkrat, a damage dealer from Australia,
- Lúcio, a support hero from Brazil,
- Tracer, a British pulse pistols wielder,
- and Zarya, a Russian Particle Cannon master.
